1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to the field of data processing and to computerized systems and methods for managing products within e-business systems. More particularly, and without limitation, the invention relates to methods and systems for optimizing the delivery process of ordered products from a supplier to a customer by third party order processing.
2. Background Information
Today, the success of a company depends essentially on the requirement that demands on goods and/or services be fulfilled precisely, cost-efficiently and in time. Accordingly, many companies make use of management system to control and optimize their production and delivery processes.
Supply chain management may include the process of coordinating the flow of goods, services, information, and/or finances between parties such as manufactures, suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers. This process may include, among other things, order processing, information feedback, and timely delivery of ordered goods and/or services.
Processes within supply chain management may include checking whether a quantity of products ordered by a customer is available at some location, for example, warehouses and production plants, at a given time. This is denoted as an “Available-to-Promise” (ATP) check, or availability check. Various ways of selecting particular locations and checking these locations as to availability of the quantity of products may be defined using a number of rules. These rules are denoted as “ATP rules.” The rules to be applied may be determined based on the particular order which is to be ATP checked. For example, if an external supplier is involved in the supply chain, then the products of this external supplier may be delivered directly from the external supplier to the customer. However, conventional systems and methods do not provide a means to optimize a delivery process for ordered products from a supplier to a customer by third party order processing.